Laval Le Mistral 2000 Preview

Can young gun lead Laval out of Eastern basement?

Laval Le Mistral's Annie Desrosiers has definitely established herself as a young gun in the Nation Women's Hockey League.

Want proof? She was second in goals with 29  eight of them on special teams  and 11th in scoring with 45 points last year. The 20-year-old assistant captain is a threat whenever she is on the ice.

Desrosiers is one of many youthful players on Laval that can raise their game to another level in their quest to move up from the Eastern Division basement. The other is 21 year-old captain Anik Bouchard.

Japan nation team member Masako Sato is returning for another year with Le Mistral, while her sister Rie will not back. Masako was second in team scoring last year.

With all that is going for Laval, the deciding factor will be between the pipes. After allowing on average five goals per game, which was second last in the NWHL, Le Mistral must find a way to trim that ugly number. Marieve Dyotte was 5-10-1 with a 6.44 goals against average, while Vania Goeury was 2-14-3 with 4.08 GAA. Newcomers Nancy Morin and Penny Peters are going to have to step up if Le Mistral wants to become a better team on the ice and possible playoff threats.

Another team statistic Laval must take a closer look is at penalty minutes. They received 605 minutes in the box, and they paid for it, allowing 44 goals in 35 games. Bouchard (91 minutes), Chartrand (88) and Valerie Levesque (60) lead the team.

Rounding out the team, new members include Josee Cournoyer who recorded four assists in seven games last year, Manon Gagne and international import Maren Valenti.